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WWE's creative team has quite an extensive roster to juggle. With well over fifty superstars and only five hours of television, they can't all be featured on every episode. Thus, it makes sense for the competitors to feature on a rotational basis, depending on whether they have ongoing storylines or not.
The recent change in the administrative regime has seen Triple H replace former chairman Vince McMahon as Head of Creative. With this change, some performers that were heavily used by the chairman have found themselves out of favor under The Game, while some formerly underutilized stars have been revitalized. However, there are still a few performers who were rarely seen in the final months of the old regime that have continued to be largely anonymous in the new era as well.
Let's list five such stars who have remained forgotten despite WWE's change of guard.
#5: Mustafa Ali can't seem to escape stop-start booking in WWE
During the final months of Vince McMahon's WWE reign, Mustafa Ali was a largely forgotten figure. Absent from RAW for months after publicly requesting his release, Ali returned for a brief push that ended in a hometown defeat to Austin Theory at Hell In A Cell 2022. He then vanished until the chairman's forced retirement ushered in a new era.
Under Triple H, Ali was a standout performer in an incredible triple-threat United States title tournament match, ultimately falling short. Even though his performances got fans buzzing, he has not featured on RAW or SmackDown since then, however, he is a regular on Main Event.
Let's hope the new regime has some plans for him in the near future.
#4: T-Bar has not been seen on WWE RAW since February
WWE Superstar T-Bar, formerly known as Dominik Dijakovic, has had a rough transition to the main roster. After being one of the standouts in late-era NXT black and gold, he debuted on RAW as a member of Retribution. The group's disastrous run sunk the momentum of all involved, with almost every member either repackaged or released.
T-Bar seems to be the only member left in limbo, with even former tag team partner Mace getting a do-over in Maximum Male Models. The 6ft 9in RAW Superstar, meanwhile, remains a fixture on Main Event, where his stellar in-ring work with the likes of Mustafa Ali seemingly goes unnoticed. It's a far cry from his days of stealing the show with Keith Lee at NXT Takeovers.
#3: Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander
Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander are two of WWE's most underutilized talents. The former Hurt Business teammates are not only extremely gifted individuals in the squared circle, but were once arguably THE top tag team in the company. Their time alongside Bobby Lashley and MVP provided us with some of the most dominant heel faction work of the "empty-arena era".
After holding almost every title on RAW at the same time, the stable was disbanded at the peak of its momentum, a move poorly received by the fans. While Bobby Lashley went on to become a two-time WWE champion, Benjamin and Alexander faded into obscurity, occasionally resurfacing to serve as enhancement talent. The change in creative regimes has done nothing to improve their fortunes, with the blowoff match to their break-up feud airing on Main Event, not RAW.
Will Survivor Series team warfare or a draft change their fortunes? It remains to be seen.
#1: Robert Roode's glorious abilities seem to have been forgotten by both Vince McMahon and Triple H
Robert Roode is one of the most accomplished stars in the business today. Having won titles in IMPACT, NXT and the WWE main roster, the veteran is a valuable asset anywhere he goes. The 45-year old, who was last seen as one half of The Dirty Dawgs, has not featured on television for months.
In fact, his last in-ring performance on RAW and SmackDown was during the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal in April. Despite reports that The Glorious One is injured, the WWE Universe can't help but feel that he would be a welcome presence even as Dolph Ziggler's manager. Judging by his illustrious NXT career under Triple H's creative authority, we are optimistic that Roode will soon be back on our screens.
